What does 奥数 mean?

[holger]

hi, came across that word in this article:

仅仅7岁的刘志贺（音译）每周就要参加两个特长班，学习奥数和英语。

My only suggestion would be a mathematical olympiad. But how can you practice an olympiad. Or is it a discipline in mathematics? obscure calculation?

[leeyah]

Yes, your guess is correct. It is short for 奥林匹克数学竞赛.

I'm not into this stuff, but afaik there are Archimedes maths academies worldwide which recruit young talents. On the popularity of maths in China read >>为什么研究奥数、奥数是什么

[Daan]

See also this wikipedia page.